A choice
by imagined-experiences
Summary: A not ordinary day in Louis' life, interactions with Andromeda, Molly I and Hugo.


This was written for the Ravenclaw Collaboration for the Hogwarts Online forum. I choose Louis Weasley (Ravenclaw) and had to write him with Andromeda, Molly I and Hugo.

Un-beta'ed. All the mistakes are mine.

* * *

When Louis stands in front of Andromeda's door, he realises he really must want to impress that girl. His brother-in-law told him that Andromeda has the biggest Muggle books collection he knew about, "even bigger than your Aunt Hermione's one," he had said.

So Louis doesn't think twice and visits Teddy's grandmother.

When she opens the door, she is quite surprised to see him here. Her eyes are wide and Louis explains, "I have a favour to ask you, Teddy told me about your book collection..."

He needn't finish his sentence, Andromeda smiles to him and gesture to the young man to enter her house.

"Is it for Hogwarts?" she asks once he's in the house.

"I left Hogwarts last year, actually, I'm searching for a muggle book by Roald Dall, something like that. I have the name written somewhere..." Louis reaches in his satchel and gives her a parchment with Charlie and The Chocolate factory by Roald Dahl written on it.

"Victoire told me that you were the smart one of the family, a Ravenclaw if I remember correctly." Louis nods to her. "Interested in Muggle Literature?" Andromeda asks.

"Well," Louis is uncomfortable. "In fact, it's for a girl. I'm searching for one of the first publications for her and I thought that if you had it I could have duplicated it and..."

Andromeda laughs at his discomfort. "I understand." She smiles at him before adding, "I can't say I have read all the books Ted had, but I don't recall this one. You can come in the library though."

She leads him toward the end of the entrance corridor where they were standing. The house isn't much, but when she opens the door of the room, Louis is amazed. There is an atmosphere in there that gives you the want to stay here forever. He enters watching his surroundings. Books, books, two arm chairs by a fireplace and books, everywhere.

"The Muggle books are there," she says. "You can't accio them, I'm sorry," she says. "Ted was very much afraid of damaging them." He nods and makes his way toward the shelf Andromeda pointed. Soon enough, his interested his lost. Near the "Muggle Literature" shelf is the "Medical books" shelf and Louis can't help but browse through the old and rare grimoire. His interest has been caught and Andromeda notices.

The Roald Dalh book is soon forgotten and the two of them start talking about medical researches, muggle and wizard. Louis admires the woman in front of him. She never went to a medical school, yet she knows so much about the subject. Only the missing degree keeps her away from being a Mediwitch. They speak about Andromeda interest in comparing Muggle and Wizard medicine and Louis talks about his ambition to study poisoning in Canada.

Their conversation is interrupted by Teddy coming through the fireplace, with his hair brown, which is a bad sign.

"It's Molly, he says. "Something happened."

Andromeda grabs Louis' arm and apparates them away. Louis knows she sensed he was too weak to apparate alone.

* * *

Louis' mind during the two seconds that last the apparition is confused: is she okay? Is she okay?

When he lands in the burrow garden, he knows she's not. His mother is hugging a crying Rose, his aunt Hermione is walking in circles in the garden. Victoire and the baby are both crying. No one notices Scorpius who tries to sooth a very pale Albus.

Louis doesn't cry. He expects those tears, but they don't come. His eyes are dry, his mind is blank. He can't realise it. He stands in the garden and looks around him, it never has been like that. Everything is a mess, everyone is despairing.

The faint pop of his other uncles coming snaps him from his nightmare reverie. Everyone is here now except Charlie. His grandma can't be dead. He needs to see it to believe it.

She's in there, baking treacle tart with Daily Prophet cuts about jobs he could do in England.

He's entering the house and this time, he won't be mad at her for the paper cuts. He won't explain her again he wants to be a Healer specialist in poisoning in Canada. He'll take a job here, and he'll come to eat at the Burrow every evening. He enters the living- room to tell her the news.

And he bursts into tears, because his grandma body is lying in front of him. Andromeda takes him and directs him to the kitchen. Soon, the other cousins come in followed by their aunt Hermione.

Louis doesn't listen to the speech she's doing to them. He doesn't care how his grandma died. All that matter is that she's not there any more. She's not with them and he feels very much empty. All are very silent, even Fred and Roxanne are quiet.

Ron passes his head through the door and calls Hermione back in the living room, where she is. Louis observes his cousins, they never been reunited all together for a long time.

There is always one or another missing at the family gathering lately, but not today. His grandma would have been happy to see them all there sitting at the kitchen table. Molly clinging on her sister's arm when they can't stand each other normally; Fred sitting still; Dominique and Lily side by side without making a scene; Hugo. Hugo who doesn't seem he has cried, Hugo like a statue.

Why isn't she here?

Finally, it's James, who can't handle people crying, that breaks the silence in the room.

"We should make tea or coffee, or something," he says with a hoarse voice which still carries the evidence of him crying.

* * *

Rose nods and stands to make the tea, but Hugo forcefully sits her back and begin to prepare the tea-pot. Louis can tell he's not well at all, his gesture are faulty, his hands are trembling. He's the baby of the cousin after all and they just lost one of the most important people in their life.

"Let me help you," Louis says gently taking out his wand.

"No!" Hugo screams and with a rapid movement, he reverses the boiling water on his arm.

And Hugo screams, and Hugo cries for the first time that day. Louis has no time to register what happens in the kitchen and who started crying again, he takes Hugo by the arm and leads him outside.

Louis heals the burnt arm, but Hugo's tears continue falling.

"It shouldn't hurt soon," the older boy says.

"I was there, you know," Hugo answers through his sobs. "And I couldn't do a thing. I should have helped! I should have saved her!" His voice is high and Louis can tell he doesn't cry for his arm any more.

"You couldn't do a thing, they said it. No one could have done a thing." He tries to reassure his cousin. With a thud, Hugo sits on the floor and Louis follows him. Hugo cries and Louis holds him, there is nothing else to do.

Louis has never been close to his baby cousin, he's five years older and when you're barely eighteen, it's a huge difference. But Hugo is always so smiling, so happy and charming that Louis can't help but consider her him as his favourite baby cousin (so far away from Lily's rebel attitude or Lucy's snob's one). It pains him to see him like that.

And while Hugo's sobs decrease, he wonders why they need to lose someone to all be reunited.

It has no sense yet he knows it's in those moments that family matters the most and when Hugo points out that they need to go in the kitchen and reassure the others, he agrees with him but needs to know something before. It feels out of place to think about something like this now, when he should care about his cousin and his family, but he can't help.

"Hugo, I know it's not the moment but... Do you think it selfish that I want to go study in Canada?"

Hugo looks at him with tears in his eyes and says, "It's not selfish Louis, but we'd miss you terribly. Like Uncle Charlie." Who isn't here yet," Louis adds in his head. Without looking back at Louis, Hugo enters the kitchen and Louis makes a decision


End file.
